The Former Head of Google Stadia Reportedly Left the Company
According to sources, Phil Harrison, the former VP and General Manager of Stadia, left Google around the same time the company shut down its cloud service in January.
Phil Harrison, who previously served as the head of Google's cloud gaming service Google Stadia, has reportedly departed from the company.
According to a report from Business Insider, which cites two Google employees who are familiar with the situation, Stadia's VP and general manager left the company in January around the same time that Google shut down its struggling cloud service. As of now, there has been no official confirmation, but Harrison's departure from Google is visible on his LinkedIn profile, where it is marked as April 2023.
Harrison has had a long-standing career in the gaming industry, having worked at both Sony and Microsoft in the past. In 2018, he joined Google and was tasked with leading the company's initiative to launch the cloud-based gaming service, Stadia. In fact, he was the one who presented Google's vision for the future of game streaming at GDC 2019.
Although Stadia showed potential initially, it ultimately did not meet expectations. The service launched in a state that felt more like a beta version and failed to gain significant traction. Within just 14 months, Google closed its in-house Stadia development studios and shifted its focus to offering a white-labeled service.
In September 2022, the company announced its decision to completely shut down Stadia. In the announcement, Harrison mentioned that the technology hadn't "gained the traction with users" that the company expected. Google refunded all hardware purchases made through Google Store, and in January of this year, the service was officially closed.
As of now, there has been no official statement regarding Harrison's future plans or next steps.
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